Daily rhythm studies

I teach middle school band/orchestra/guitar classes. One of the most important things I teach besides note reading is rhythms. My students will practice and study rhythms everyday in different formats.

Clap/Chant

"Sizzle"

On one note, chord, bowing

Sing

Call out rests

Using words/syllables

Just as reading notation being important, if you can't play rhythms correctly, you have nothing. One of the most difficult practices is using a metronome in your learning. Playing slow is difficult. We make sure we spend time practicing rhythms at quarter = 60bpm.

We will even incorporate rhythms examples with scales to reinforce a concept. This is something I got from my bass teacher, Max Janowsky. Putting one measure rhythms into context with scales makes playing less boring and more effective. Make sure you incorporate a metronome in your daily rehearsals. I feel that young orchestras need to do this more often. (I will write more about this in an upcoming blog about rhythmizing the bow)